The Bridge of Allan Masters tournament was held at the picturesque former Spa Town at the Bridge of Allan Sports Club on 6/7/8 February.

There were a total of 76 competitors who took part in two ladies’ and 10 mens’ events. It was encouraging that there were sufficient entries to hold all 12 events. There was a disappointing entry in numbers (only 6) this year but certainly not quality for the ladies events. The main sponsor for the tournament was SKN Electrical Services and the other sponsors were Zanart Ltd, Belhaven Best, Stirling Printworx, Graham’s, Coasters Discotecheques, titan rackets and WoodWinters.

Walter McAllister and the Bridge of Allan Sports Club committee managed a very well organised tournament. They all worked hard to make all competitors welcome and at the prize giving competitors thanked Walter and the committee for all their hard work.

Thanks are also due to SSRL (Ross Cairns) and Ernie Cowell for managing the draws and supporting the Bridge of Allan Sports Club committee in running the tournament. Mike Halpin and John Crawford deserve thanks for providing marking services during the tournament.

Alex Sinclair and Ernie Cowell quickly assessed the Bridge of Allan Masters results and updated the Masters Tournament Points. Alex emailed the updated Points to his Masters’ distribution list of about 350 players who have participated on the Scottish Masters circuit over the previous 10 years.

In a fast and furious first game, Peter edged it. Then Simon started to get into the game and take control. With his unusual front shot ‘drop turn boast’ he managed to keep Peter guessing and win a few quick easy points. He took the second game to make it 1/1. The third was all Simon and he took Peter apart, easily killing the ball from midcourt at ease wining 9/1. Peter knew he was in trouble but manage to change the game in the fourth. Keeping the ball to the back of the court and not making many mistakes he went after everything. Not giving Simon any easy chances to put the ball away he slowly took control winning the fourth. At 2/2, it looked like it could be anyones game. However, the momentum was with Peter and Simon could not get back into the game. Peter keeping the same strategy as before won the fifth game 9/1 and the match.

This was an excellent game on Sunday afternoon and the high quality play by both players was appreciated by the large gallery.

With only six competitors, the ladies were split into two groups of three and they played round robins with the top two playing cross tie semi finals and then the final.

The draw consisted of two groups of three mixed age players with one group all hard hitters (Sabine, Sue and Jennifer) and the other light, accurate and fast (Paula, Christine and Julia). Sabine Mackenzie in the hard hitters group beat Jennifer McCartney 3/0. Sue Strachan won 3/0 against Jennifer and competed pretty well against Sabine Mackenzie and got close in the third but Sabine finished well to win 3/0.

In the other group world O60 champion Pauline Douglas showed her class to win both of her matches whilst Julia Horsburgh and Christina Graham had a big five setter with Julia clinching the win to qualify for the semi final.

The semis were set with players with contrasting styles Julia v Sabine and Pauline v Sue. Sue let her nerves get the better of her playing a world champion and Pauline did not allow her to settle and won 3/0. (Taking 1 8/8 in the second game turned out to be the right decision for Pauline). In the other semi final Sabine played well and comfortably beat Julia 3/0.

In the final Sabine was just too strong and accurate for Pauline and ran out 3-0 without having dropped a set in the tournament. She adds Bridge of Allan to her East Masters title from last month and Pauline holds on to her O50 crown for another year.

All of the ladies would like to thank Walter and team at BoA for being excellent hosts as ever!

MO35

There were only two competitors in this event – this was very disappointing. Peter O’Hara played well and was too strong for Craig Duff, winning 3/0.

Leading Masters Tournament points

Pos.

Name

Pts

Pld

1

Andrew McBean

975

5

2

Michael Black

680

3

3

Chris Gray

300

1

4

Craig Duff

220

4

5

Peter Buchan

210

1

6

Blair McKenzie

180

2

MO40

There were six competitors they were split into two groups of three and played round robins with the top two playing cross tie semi finals and then the final. In the first group Peter O’Hara beat both John Kynoch and Angus Woodward to win the group. In the other match Angus beat John in a close match 3/1 to qualify for the semi final.

In the other group Iain Logan beat Ian Morrison 3/0 and Roddy Campbell 3/2 in a very close match to win the group. In the other match Roddy beat Ian Morrison 3/0 to qualify for the semi final.

In the semi finals on Sunday morning Peter O’Hara played Roddy Campbell and Iain Logan played Angus Woodward. In a hard hitting and entertaining match Peter beat Roddy 3/1 and in a closely contested match Angus beat Iain 3/1.

In the final, Angus played very well and for the first two games he retrieved the ball well and prolonged the rallies against the hard hitting Peter, In going for winners Peter made a number of errors and Angus won both games to lead 2/0. In the third and fourth games, Peter, who was carrying an injury, took control with his hard hitting drives and cutting out the errors won both games to level the match 2/2. In the final game Peter continued to dominate the rallies against a tiring Angus and closed out the final game 9/5 and won the match. The match was played in good spirit by both players and provided excellent entertainment to the large gallery.

Leading Masters Tournament points

Pos.

Name

Pts

Pld

1

Peter Buchan

1230

5

2

John Kynoch

770

4

3

Roddy Campbell

545

3

4

Mark James

500

3

5

Angus Woodward

435

2

6

Ian Morrison

375

3

7

Peter O’Hara

360

1

MO45
There was a healthy contingency of 12 competitors in this season’s competition. The first match early Friday night match saw local boy Andy Meldrum beating an out of sorts opponent Craig Mitchell 3/0. It was a good match but Craig never seemed to get used to Andy’s hard hitting.

Saturday lunchtime saw the rest of the first round games start off. Martin Jack was too strong for David Massey winning 3/0. The score does not reflect the effort David put into the match but Martin was always on top. Andrew McCulley was also too strong for his opponent Craig Morrison and won reasonably comfortably 3/0. The toughest match was Martin Sanchez beating David Lindsay 3/1. Although David has been struggling recently with injuries, he competed well but was not match sharp and that was what made the difference in the end.

The quarter finals saw the No 1 seed Mark Beaumont take on Martin Jack in a high quality game. Martin started off quickest and got the first game in the bag before Mark’s movement and fitness could make a difference. However, Mark’s experience helped and with reducing his error count he came though the next 3 games to clinch the win. Mark James started off on fire with his game against Andrew McCulley winning the first two games very quickly. However, Andrew managed to dig in and change what was happening and took the third game. Mark was now starting to feel the pressure, however he managed to keep his concentration and come back from being 7/3 down to clinch the match 3/1. Simon Gogolin was playing in two age groups down (as part of his preparation for the British Nationals) and in the O50s competition but you could not tell. He was always on top of Martin Sanchez and came through in three straight games. Andrew Meldrum unfortunately started very slowly against an in-form Peter Buchan. Apart from some good shots in the second game he was always up against an opponent who was making very few mistakes. Peter came through 3/0.

In the semi-finals on Sunday morning both matches went to 5 games. First on was Simon Gogolin against Peter Buchan – see ‘Match of the Tournament’.

Top seed Mark Beaumont was then playing Mark James who he has had several close matches over the years and this was no different. Mark J was off quickest and kept on top of his opponent by taking the ball early or playing shots that only ‘lefties’ can do. He was two games up before Mark B started wearing him down. With his ability to get around the court he started to force Mark J to play one more shot and get him off the tee. The next two games went Mark B’s way. The fifth and final game was a nervy affair with Mark J getting a good lead 8/3. However, Mark B would not lie down and forced it to 8/7 before Mark J managed to get the point he needed and the match was his.

The final, unfortunately was not up to the standard of the semi final. With Mark James extremely tired from the semi, Peter took advantage and played at a fast pace. Apart from an even second game Peter was always on top and ran out the winner 3/0.

Leading Masters Tournament points

Pos.

Name

Pts

Pld

1

Peter Buchan

1215

4

2

Mark James

1005

6

3

Andrew McCulley

740

5

4

David Lindsay

645

7

5

Mark Beaumont

545

2

6

Craig Mitchell

440

4

7

Paul Jenkins

360

1

MO50

There were 16 competitors and this was the most competitive age group.

The first round matches comprised some walkovers and reasonably comfortable games for the winners on Friday evening and Saturday morning. The quarter finals were a mixed bag: an easy win for Simon Gogolin over Rolf Hansen; a retiral by Colin McMullan to gift a win to Robin Ridley although the latter sustained both sore ribs and foot; Chris Holt took advantage of a longer rest to beat Graham McAinsh 3/1; Brian Robertson and Russell Hunter had a rematch from the same stage at Edinburgh, Brian learning more from the last event to win 3/0.

Sunday in the semis, Brian started slowly not finding enough width to push Simon around. The third game was much more competitive with some trademark drops by Brian, but Simon was too strong winning 3/0. In the other semi, Robin was hampered by a suspected fractured bone in his foot and Chris was conscious of sore tendons in his wrist but at least he could reach the ball which allowed him an unusually comfortable win. In the final, Simon was taking no prisoners and although there were some great rallies, the score line was quite one-sided in Simon’s favour even though he had previously had a long game with Peter Buchan in the O45s.

The plate competition had three very close matches. Graeme Patullo, returning after eight years’ absence from being a regular Masters player, scraped past Danny Russell in the quarters, only to suffer a 2/3 loss to Stuart Mitchell in the semis. This sapped Stuart’s energy levels in the final, when he let a 2/0 lead be overhauled 3-2 by Mark Adderley.

Leading Masters Tournament points

Pos.

Name

Pts

Pld

1

Chris Holt

1230

6

2

Simon Gogolin

1140

4

3

Brian Robertson

1045

6

4

Russell Hunter

830

6

5

Robin Ridley

540

3

6

Ronnie Carter

500

3

MO55

There were only six competitors and this was a disappointing entry for this age group. There were two very competitive first round ties between Keith Gristwood and Brian Jackson and David McAleese and Gordon Kerr with both matches going to five games.

Keith won the first game but Brian recovered to win the next two before Keith won the last two games to qualify for the semi final against Robin Ridley. In the other tie Gordon won the first game but David won the next two games 10-8. Gordon won the fourth before David won the final game 9/5 and qualify for the semi final against Boyd Kydd.

In the first semi final on Saturday afternoon Robin Ridley convincingly beat Keith Gristwood 3/0 to reach the final. Robin was also playing in the O50s and had qualified for the semi final of that event but in doing so he had sustained foot and rib injuries. In the second semi final on Sunday afternoon Boyd Kydd won a very tight first game 9/7 against David McAleese and then comfortably won the next two games to reach the final.

Unfortunately after losing his Sunday morning semi final in the O50, Robin Ridley could not continue because of his injuries and he had to concede the O55 final to Boyd Kydd.

Leading Masters Tournament points

Pos.

Name

Pts

Pld

1

David McAleese

1050

7

2

Neil Rayner

945

4

3

Robin Ridley

900

3

4

Norman Paterson

720

5

5

Boyd Kydd

570

2

6

Alan Susskind

540

4

7

Peter Shivas

500

2

8

Keith Gristwood

455

5

9

Simon Gogolin

360

1

MO60

There were 10 competitors and in the two first round ties Walter McAllister beat Warren Cameron 3/1 and Ernie Cowell beat Phil Leek 3/0. In the quarter finals Jim Dougal beat Walter McAllister 3/0, Alex Allan beat Eric Donohoe 3/0 and John Rae, after losing the first game recovered to beat Ernie Cowell 3/1. Unfortunately Emilio Fazzi withdrew at short notice giving Dave Sturman a walkover to the semi final.

In the semi finals top seeds Jim Dougal and John Rae both qualified for the final in contrasting style. John convincingly beat Alex Allan 3/0 whereas Jim had a very hard five game match against Dave Sturman. Dave led 2/1 before Jim recovered to win the last two games, 9/6 in the fifth game to reach the final.

Jim and John have already met in five Masters’ finals this season with Jim winning three matches and John two matches. Jim won the first game but John recovered strongly to comfortably win the next the games and the final.

Leading Masters Tournament points

Pos.

Name

Pts

Pld

1

John Rae

1410

10

2

Jim Dougal

1380

8

3

Dave Sturman

695

7

4

Emilio Fazzi

625

6

4

Alex Allan

625

5

6

Eric Donohoe

490

6

7

Ernie Cowell

445

5

MO65

There were only eight competitors. There were some interesting and competitive first round ties before the four seeded players won through to the semi finals. Ian Ross was pushed all the way by local Bridge of Allan player John Boswell. Ian was very relieved to win 3/1, with a scoreline of 9/7, 7-9, 9-6.10-9! Another local player John McLaren played well but lost 3/2 to Chris Jeffrey, Alex Sinclair beat former winner Mike Gibson 3/1 and Alex Everingham convincingly beat Roy Gordon 3/0.

In the final Alex got off to a flying start and easily won the first game 9-1, however Ian recovered and won the next three games and won the O65s title for the third time.

Leading Masters Tournament points

Pos.

Name

Pts

Pld

1

Ian Ross

1298

7

2

Alex Sinclair

1050

8

3

Chris Wilson

690

4

4

Donald Shearer

595

4

5

Ian Nicholson

380

3

6

Warren Cameron

340

3

MO70

The Men O70 was played as a round robin among five contestants: Vincent Taylor, Bill Kennedy, David Brown, Bill Perrie and Ken Reid. Ken Reid, from Oxford, dominated the division and won without conceding a game. His closest match was on the Sunday morning against Vincent Taylor, from Canada, but really he was never pressed.

There was a battle royal for second place among the remaining four players with Vincent Taylor finally winning out, followed by David Brown, Bill Perrie and Bill Kennedy. The closest match in the division occurred on the Saturday morning when it took David Brown five games to down Bill Perrie.

The strangest match in the division took place on Sunday afternoon between Vincent Taylor and David Brown, where Vincent won the first game, was down 0/8 in the second before winning it 10/9, lost the third 9-0 then won the fourth to take the match. It should be noted that Bill Perrie and Bill Kennedy, along with Vincent Taylor, were both eligible to play in the O75 division, but elected to play in only the one age group.

Leading Masters Tournament points

Pos.

Name

Pts

Pld

1

Ken Reid

2

Vincent Taylor

715

3

3

David Brown

695

3

4

Bill Kennedy

280

2

5

Bill Perrie

225

1

MO75

This division originally had five players, three of whom were over 80. However, it was agreed to hold an Over 80 division, which left Vincent Taylor to play Zander Wedderburn for the championship. Unfortunately Zander had to retire before the end of the first game, giving the title to Vincent.

Leading Masters Tournament points

Pos.

Name

Pts

Pld

1

Vincent Taylor

1005

6

2

David Rogan

125

1

3

Zander Wedderburn

105

2

MO80

This division was to be played as a round robin among Alex Hamilton, David Rogan and Andy Jack. Unfortunately in the end Alex was not able to play so the competition reduced to one match between David and Andy, which David won 3/0.